Notifications flashed, but before Tyler had a chance to look at them, he felt something. Not like the warm, euphoric feeling he had felt when reaching level two — this was more physical. Something just below his rib cage, a swirling energy.
He put his hand on the spot, and in the same way as when you put your hand on your heart, he felt something. Something real. Not beating, but rotating. Sending off faint trails of energy throughout his body.
He moved his hand away and the sensation faded. He listened, tried to feel for it — nothing. He put his hand back, and instantly he could feel the same spiral motion. He had a feeling it had been there inside of him all the time, and only now could he feel it.
Puzzled by this, he checked his notifications and was instantly even more puzzled.
Congratulations
You have chosen the Path of Insight
You are no longer satisfied with just seeing the show but now want to peer behind the cur… Error
Path not available.
You have chosen the Path of Intellect
Upgraded
You have chosen the Path of Intellect (Epic)
You have awakened a path that many do not realise they are walking. You seek understanding, not blindly accepting.
+1 Intellect
+2 free stats per level
New abilities available
Tyler’s first thought was that something had broken. If the world and the system were going through integration, maybe there was an error. Yet he had a feeling there was something more than just a simple glitch here.
He had liked the sound of Path of Intellect, and now it seemed to be upgraded to a higher tier, giving three stat points — the same as Path of Insight — although one would always be in Intellect. There wasn’t much he could do about it. Who would you complain to anyway?
Al spoke then, bringing Tyler out of deep thought.
“It saw you, but not me. That was close. Let’s not do that again.”
“Who saw me?”
“The system,” Al said slowly, as if it was the most obvious answer in the entire world. “That’s who sent the message!”
Tyler looked at the next notification, deciding whatever Al was talking about was best left to him and his insanity.
Congratulations
You gained a new achievement
Epic 1st
You stand where none has stood before. The first to obtain an Epic foundational skill. To achieve such understanding of one’s path before walking it is no small feat.
+10% all stats
Well, ain’t that something. I mean, it’s pretty useless at the moment. I don’t think I even get a point in any stat, but the potential for growth is amazing — as long as stats keep increasing.
“More numbers is good!”
Tyler also noticed that he now had two extra tabs on his status. Selecting the first, it displayed his Path of Intellect.
Path of Intellect
Level 1
Abilities
Mana Manipulation — Level 1
Many who walk this path struggle and try in vain with a multitude of different elemental mana until they find understanding. Not you. Having already grasped understanding with an epic foundation, all that is left is for you to hone your skills.
Activate
Yes / No
Tyler wasn’t sure if this was good or bad. Had he missed out on some basic skills he would need? Solving equations is no good if you don’t understand algebra to start with. He just hoped this wasn’t the case.
He selected Yes to activate, and the skill appeared in the tab.
Mana Manipulation
Draw on your own mana to shape and use at will.
Cost: 1 mana per second
Duration: Not applicable
He had a feeling — no, an urge — to test it straight away. As if his body instinctively knew what to do. He cupped his hand and flexed his fingers slightly, white glowing tendrils forming between his fingertips and thumb. It felt warm and cool at the same time. Made from light, but it had weight.
He did the same with his other hand, and for a moment he was lost in pure wonder and power.
Dropping his hands and letting his mana fade away, he looked at the next tab. This one was different from the others — greyed out and lifeless, as if it was not active.
Path of Insight
Abilities
Insight — Level 1
Use: Looks deeper into a person or object, revealing the hidden information behind them
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Cost: 5 mana
Cast Time: Instant
Al chuckled in Tyler’s mind for a while but did not say anything. Tyler didn’t either. He had a feeling he might have just bugged the system and got a free skill. He felt like he knew how to use that skill, that if he tired it would work. He held off wanting to check his status page one more time and use any free points he had.
ENTITY STATUS
Name: Isaac Vane
Race: Humanoid — Rank F
Class: Savant
Profession: N/A
Level: 2
Experience: 2 / 200
Attributes
? Strength: 4
? Dexterity: 5
? Stamina: 3
? Intelligence: 7
? Wisdom: 5
? Perception: 4
3 free stat points available
HP: 150 / 150
New information was now available. He was now Rank F, which he guessed was the bottom of the rung. With only being level two, that was sure to be a given. His class said Servant— what did that even mean? He was good at something, but what. He thought he was good at a few things.
He also had three free stat points. He put one into Stamina and saw his health increase to 200. So, with the point he got for level two, it looked like each point in Stamina was worth 50 health. He wasn’t sure where to put the others, so decided to put one into his lowest, Stamina, and one into Strength.
Again, he felt his body getting stronger. Not as much as it did when he reached level two, but he still noticed.
With nothing left to check but his Insight ability, he looked around for the first time in what must have been thirty minutes and found no one about — not even the boar he had just killed. There was a pool of blood drying in the grass, however.
“Over here, lad!” Keith shouted. He was sitting on a fallen tree, tossing pebbles off into the dense foliage. “I take it you levelled up. Nice feeling, ain’t it.”
Tyler walked over to the old man, deciding not to sit next to him but stand. He had so much energy — as if he was on a high.
“You can tell?”
“No, not really. But when a bloke stands still for half an hour, looking off into space, eyes glazed over — well, it used to mean call a doctor. But now… we’ve all been there. So, what did you choose? Any uncommon skills? A few have had them.”
Tyler didn’t want to share everything, but he also didn’t want to lie to the old man. He liked him, and besides, that wasn’t really who he was. So, he phrased it in a way that appeased both his thoughts.
“I got Path of Intellect. And yeah — not just common. So, feeling pretty pleased with myself.”
“Figures. All you lot in your labs working on science. I bet your starting Intellect was through the roof to begin with.”
Tyler just laughed, but when he thought about it, Intellect was his highest starting attribute. Not massive, but bigger than the others.
“Anyway, let’s head back over. They pulled the boar back to camp. They probably have it roasting as we speak.” He shook his head. “And Bill and Charlie will no doubt be arguing over how to cook it.”
“Charlie?”
“Young lad, long hair. He was an apprentice cook before all this and has taken it upon himself to cook everything. Yet Bill always insists on more seasoning. Charlie insists it ruins the flavour. It’s all I’ve heard these past two evenings.”
“Yeah, I remember now. I was going to ask — is he alright? He never said much earlier. Just looked off into space like he was somewhere else.”
Keith slapped Tyler on the shoulder and walked towards the camp, laughing slightly.
“He’s a teenager. That’s what they do — stare into space, looking broody.”
The boar was already roasting on a spit when they arrived, fat dripping into the fire. The smell made Tyler realise just how hungry he was. Even after eating a mountain of protean bars that tasted like stale air.
Bill and Charlie were mid-argument.
“I’m telling you, it needs salt before the heat!”
“And I’m telling you, you’ll ruin the texture that way!”
Tyler smiled at the normalcy of it as they bickered like and old man and wife. It was something that he could see happening with himself and friends.
They made their way back to the makeshift seating area as Rafe, Syed, Carl, Helen, and Shahan made their way over. Tyler noticed how red Helen’s eyes were as she sat opposite him, Shahan standing beside her. He never asked how she was doing; sometimes people just need the silence.
Rafe came up behind Tyler and gently slapped him on the shoulder. He cleared his throat with a low, exaggerated cough and said, “Sorry about that earlier. Things were a bit emotional, and well…”
“No apology needed, I understand. Let’s just leave it behind us,” Tyler said, cutting Rafe off. He did understand. It didn’t mean he liked it, and he still thought Rafe was out of order, but under the circumstances—well, someone died. That was more important.
“Any signs of anyone else about? Any idea what happened?” Keith asked.
Helen got up and walked away, Shahan giving an apologetic look and following her.
“We scouted the area, but nothing. Not even a trail to follow. We just laid here to rest not far from the stream, near the apple tree Bill and Charlie ravaged yesterday. I don’t think Helen is taking it well.”
“Yep, I guess not. I think they were quite close before.”
The conversation continued, and Tyler sat back, letting the others talk. He checked that place behind his eyes again, and seeing the Insight skill, he thought he’d try it out now. He looked at Keith and felt that place that swirled inside of him, and as easily as focusing on a detail with your eyes, he activated the skill.
Human, Rank F, Lifeweaver, Level 3
The information just flowed into him, like a memory he had forgotten rose to the surface and popped to the front of his mind. So, I do have the ability, even though the system said it was invalid.
“I could have told you that. Well, maybe not. I could, I—I wouldn’t know.”
Tyler again ignored Al, this time actually thinking if he should start looking at what Al actually was now and find a way—if there was one—to get him out of his head. As he thought, he saw Carl trying to make his way unnoticed to one of the tents. He apologised, got up, and headed over to see him.
He’d been wanting to talk with him all day, see if he knew anything about Ned or Matt. He would at least of recognized them if they had passed. Mabe the other just hadn’t noticed who they were.
“Hey, Carl. Wait a minute. I know it’s been a weird few days, and a pretty bad one today, but do you have a minute just to catch up?”
Tyler said, sticking his head into the tent opening Carl had entered a few moments earlier.
He was sat with his boots off, trying to clean dark brown and red stains from them. It looked like they had been splattered by something.
“Something happen there, Carl?”
He fidgeted, cleaning the boots a little harder without looking up. After a pause, he said, “Helped Charlie earlier getting that stupid boar onto the spit. They know I don’t like it.”
He kept rubbing at his boots, as if the blood on them was infectious, still not looking up at Tyler.
“Yeah, can be quite brutal, but people must eat, and there isn’t much here right now. Look, I was just wondering if you’ve seen Matty or Ned. We were all in the lab working when all this happened, and I haven’t seen them since.”
Carl looked up at this, his eyes bloodshot as if he’d been crying. He stared at Tyler as if he was trying to look deep inside him. Tyler moved back slightly, feeling as if the lad had just snapped.
“No, sorry, I haven’t seen them. Not seen many people I know, really,” he replied, slipping his boots back on, the words coming out fast, as if he didn’t have enough time to say them.
“I think I’ll head to the river, try and clean the rest of this down there. See you later on?”
Carl got up, moved past Tyler, and stepped out of the tent. He gave a half-smile and headed off towards the tree line without another word. Tyler shrugged, a little shocked at Carl’s abruptness. But he was always a little wired Carl, still as he watched Carl walk away he fixed his eyes onto the back of his head and activated insight
Human, Rank F, Arbiter, Level 2
